Free Tingle All the Way by MacKenzie McKade Page B

parting the Red Sea to get to their
side. Like she always did, she hugged him with a death-defying grip before she
kissed his cheek and commented she thought he wasn’t eating enough.
    Then she turned her sharp attention to
Kayla. “Oh my goodness, sweetheart. Who is this charming creature?”
    “Kayla Jones. She’s an attorney for Buckman
and Chase. Kayla, this is my mother, Cecilia Allred.”
    Kayla extended her hand. “Mrs. Allred, it
is such a pleasure to meet—”
    His mother almost flew into Kayla’s arms,
giving her a big, warm embrace. Kayla’s eyes widened with surprise as she
hesitantly wrapped her arms around the smaller woman.
    Barry smiled inwardly. His mother could
melt the coldest of hearts. Kayla was no match for her.
    After waving a maid over to take Kayla’s
wrap and purse, his mother turned back to his date. “Now tell me about
yourself. Parents. Brothers. Sisters.” She must have seen Kayla’s expression
freeze, because she brushed her hand through the air and quickly changed the
subject. “Charles told me that you won your case against a dastardly
prosecutor.”
    She winked at Barry.
    “Charles?” he asked, as confused as Kayla
appeared.
    “Buckman. You know he and your father are
friends. He keeps us apprised of all your courtroom antics when he can.” She
turned her gaze to Kayla. “Apparently you are Buckman and Chase’s fair-haired
child. Charles has wonderful things to say about you. I’ve been dying to meet
you since I found out you would be attending tonight.”
    This time his mother had surprised even
him. How did she know about Kayla or the fact he would be escorting her? Then
the answer stepped amongst the throng of partygoers.
    Stan.
    Barry should have known his mother would
have quizzed his friend about her son’s love life. Once she knew about Kayla,
she probably hunted Charles down and interrogated him about her.
    His friend took one look at Barry’s date
and male appreciation slid across his face as he approached. “Barry, who is
this breathtaking beauty?”
    “Kayla, this is Stan Keller, my broker and ex-friend .”
    Stan chuckled, taking Kayla’s hand in his.
“I’m his very best friend, he means.”
    “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Keller.”
    “Stan. Call me Stan.” He held Kayla’s hand
longer than was polite and she arched a chilly brow. But Stan would be Stan. He
raised their interlocked hands to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of
hers.
    “Barry?”
    Turning, he greeted his father with a
handshake and a slap on the back.
    “I’m told you’re not alone tonight.” His
father smiled warmly at Kayla, and Stan finally released her to shake the older
man’s hand.
    “Kayla Jones, this is my father, Conway
Allred.”
    She slowly extended her hand. “Conway
Ammunition and Arms.”
    “You’ve heard of my company?”
    “Yes, I—” Could it be he didn’t remember her?
    His father laughed. “Yes, I know. But there
are no hard feelings.” When Barry flashed his father a questioning look, the
man explained. “Your date was instrumental in reallocating some company
resources.” When his father shared with the small group their acquaintance,
Barry’s gaze darted to her.
    Kayla had sued his father.

Chapter Seven
     
    Talk about wanting to die a thousand
deaths. Kayla’s heart started beating so fast she thought perhaps she would
drop right there and then. The world truly was a small place and she felt it
getting smaller by the second.
    Her boss roamed the room somewhere and the
man standing before her…
    Well, she had sued his company for half a
million dollars for a client and won. It was some time ago, but evidently
losing five hundred thousand dollars tended to stay in the mind of the person
paying it out. And evidently his son hadn’t known anything about it.
    The site explosion had been due to
negligence. Yes, it was true a disgruntled employee had caused the incident,
but Conway Ammunition and Arms had still been held responsible.
    The